Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Happy Birthday my baby girl!
3 years ago today my sweet, silly, goofy, smart baby girl was born. Super bittersweet. Shes no longer a toddler she's now a preschooler (gah, she'll be starting preschool in September! o.O)!! I can't believe how fast these last 3years have gone. She's a super huge goof ball, she loves to cuddle and read to us, she loves writing "O's", drawing stick people, she can identify 22/26 letters, she recognizes #'s 2, 3 & 5, and knows her basic colors except green and blue which she mixes up frequently. She's in love with her older brother and wants to be like him very much, so when he's at school she'll practice writing 'letters' (how she learned O's and stick people) to be like "Shay." She's obsessed with the color pink, and can be a huge Diva, sometimes telling us her name is Princess not Kieran. Lover that baby goofball Kiwi <3
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Some of the going ons here
I wanted to do a quick post about why I have been/was so absent from my blog.
#1 my son started Kindergarten in September so we've had to learn what it was like being in 'big kid school'
#2 He had his ADOS/ADI-R test for Autism in August and September. It took till November before we got the results. He was 1 point above the cut off for Aspergers. So at this point he is PDD-NOS, once he's 8yrs old they will give him an IQ test and a Theroy of Mind test to see if it is Asperger's or not. I was told by the person that gave him the test that the only reason he scored above was because, even with his language delays, his speech made him score too high...
#3 His pedi wanted him to start IBI (Intensive Behavioral Intervention). It took a while for us to figure out if we wanted to do that or keep his PSR (he gets or or the other). We decided in November to do the IBI. He had his SIB-R test at the Department of Disabilities in early December. At the end of December we found out he was approved for it (which only the most 'severe' get approved). We just started the IBI processes at the end of January, we had to wait for an opening, and it takes 30-60 days for the center to do evals and write up a plan specific to him and then upto 30 more days for the state to approve his plan. But once thats done he will be getting IBI, after school, at a Montessori school which I'm super excited about.
#4 My daughter had to go to Shriner's Hospital. She has "curly" toes, and I was worried that it was a sign of the neuromuscular disease that I have (which at that time we still didn't know what I had/have). She had surgery in early January to release the tendons under 2 toes (one each foot) to try to help that out. As of right now it looks like she may be the 5% that the surgery failed in :( This means that when she is 5-6yrs old they will go in and pin the toe that is croocked/crossed/curled. They cut the toe and then pin the bone straight and cast it for 6-8weeks.
#5 I have been back and forth trying to get into a Neurologist for my neuromuscular issue to figure out what I have. I finally got county assistance in early January (we are one of the millions without insurance and can't afford $5k+ in Neuro bills). I just had my Neuro appt today. He is "very" he knows what I have. He says I have something called Charcot-Marie-Tooth(CMT) disease. It is a progressive disease, basically the nerves that controll the muscles in the extremities stop working. Right now both my legs are affected. My left way worse then my right, but my right is 'catching' up to be just as bad. I go on March 14th for an EMG nerve conduction test of my legs, to varify that I do in fact have CMT, and he's also sending me for an MRI of my lower back just to be sure that I don't have anything going on there (which he said he highly doubts). I will be in AFO (ankle foot orthotics) leg braces for the rest of my life, and depending on how bad my hands get I could be in braces there. My chances of being wheel chair bound are fairly high in my case. The doctor was surprised at the fact that I'm actually able to walk right now with how bad it is. The sad thing, CMT is hereditary, which means the kids have it (from what I've read CMT doesn't skip generations, its just that some generations have milder forms that go unnoticed or people think they have things like carpal tunnel and such), it also means that poor Kieran's toes are probably a sign of it. :(
So that is the happenings here in our lives, we also just moved this week! Now you can see why I've been so scarce over the last few months. I'm really hoping to get cracking here again!
#1 my son started Kindergarten in September so we've had to learn what it was like being in 'big kid school'
#2 He had his ADOS/ADI-R test for Autism in August and September. It took till November before we got the results. He was 1 point above the cut off for Aspergers. So at this point he is PDD-NOS, once he's 8yrs old they will give him an IQ test and a Theroy of Mind test to see if it is Asperger's or not. I was told by the person that gave him the test that the only reason he scored above was because, even with his language delays, his speech made him score too high...
#3 His pedi wanted him to start IBI (Intensive Behavioral Intervention). It took a while for us to figure out if we wanted to do that or keep his PSR (he gets or or the other). We decided in November to do the IBI. He had his SIB-R test at the Department of Disabilities in early December. At the end of December we found out he was approved for it (which only the most 'severe' get approved). We just started the IBI processes at the end of January, we had to wait for an opening, and it takes 30-60 days for the center to do evals and write up a plan specific to him and then upto 30 more days for the state to approve his plan. But once thats done he will be getting IBI, after school, at a Montessori school which I'm super excited about.
#4 My daughter had to go to Shriner's Hospital. She has "curly" toes, and I was worried that it was a sign of the neuromuscular disease that I have (which at that time we still didn't know what I had/have). She had surgery in early January to release the tendons under 2 toes (one each foot) to try to help that out. As of right now it looks like she may be the 5% that the surgery failed in :( This means that when she is 5-6yrs old they will go in and pin the toe that is croocked/crossed/curled. They cut the toe and then pin the bone straight and cast it for 6-8weeks.
#5 I have been back and forth trying to get into a Neurologist for my neuromuscular issue to figure out what I have. I finally got county assistance in early January (we are one of the millions without insurance and can't afford $5k+ in Neuro bills). I just had my Neuro appt today. He is "very" he knows what I have. He says I have something called Charcot-Marie-Tooth(CMT) disease. It is a progressive disease, basically the nerves that controll the muscles in the extremities stop working. Right now both my legs are affected. My left way worse then my right, but my right is 'catching' up to be just as bad. I go on March 14th for an EMG nerve conduction test of my legs, to varify that I do in fact have CMT, and he's also sending me for an MRI of my lower back just to be sure that I don't have anything going on there (which he said he highly doubts). I will be in AFO (ankle foot orthotics) leg braces for the rest of my life, and depending on how bad my hands get I could be in braces there. My chances of being wheel chair bound are fairly high in my case. The doctor was surprised at the fact that I'm actually able to walk right now with how bad it is. The sad thing, CMT is hereditary, which means the kids have it (from what I've read CMT doesn't skip generations, its just that some generations have milder forms that go unnoticed or people think they have things like carpal tunnel and such), it also means that poor Kieran's toes are probably a sign of it. :(
So that is the happenings here in our lives, we also just moved this week! Now you can see why I've been so scarce over the last few months. I'm really hoping to get cracking here again!
Monday, July 18, 2011
5 years ago
July 18th, 2006 my life changed for ever. My precious baby boy was born at 10:12pm, weighing 7lbs 9oz and 21" long.
Happy Birthday my booger head!
Happy Birthday my booger head!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Happy Birthday to my sweet baby!
I can't believe its already here. 2 years ago I was tossing and turning in my bed because I was going to have a baby in a few short hours! Baby Kieran was born via c-section on April 8th, 2009 @ 7:51am (due to being footling breach, and too risky to try a version). She weighed in at 6lbs 13ox and 19(or 19.5 I forget oops...lol)inches long. She took to breastfeeding like a champ, while I was in recovery still! We had some issues with her weight and latching after leaving the hospital but we pulled through and I'm proud to say that we nursed till she SELF weened in January of this year at 21½ months old!
Happy Birthday to my sweet, silly, goofy, lefty, dancing girly!
Happy Birthday to my sweet, silly, goofy, lefty, dancing girly!
Monday, March 14, 2011
Going MIA
I'll be MIA for about a week. We sign for the keys to the new house tomorrow (Tuesday) and our internet will be turned on at the new house "Sometime" on Thursday >.<. Time Warner only had a full day appointment available so we have to sit around all day (luckily my brother is staying with us since we have lots of appts. on Thursday's). I think I'll have a nice update blog post next week with pictures of the new house too :D
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Saturday Snapshots: Listening Therapy/Therapeutic Listening
The main idea is to emphasize integration of the auditory and vestibular systems together. Since there is such a close connection with visual functioning, visual processing also will likely improve. Particularly spatial awareness, and the concept of time and space.
Sensory-processing-disorder.com
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Moving
We are finally moving! When we moved into this place in August 2008 we signed a 6month lease, and our plan was to move in Feb. 2009...well we found out a few days after we signed the lease that I was pregnant with Kieran and moving just 2 months prior to her being born probably wasn't a good idea. We decided to wait till Feb. 2010 to move, but it didn't work out right. Since November I've been watching Craigslist trying to find a place for us to move once February came. We had 3 different places in mind at the beginning of this month, each with pro's and con's and we couldn't decide which one. Once we finally decided and went to apply the people said that they had other apps and we had to wait, so we went with our second choice, same thing happened. After that we thought we wouldn't find anything, it was already 1.5weeks into Feb, and we had told our landlord we'd be moved out by Feb. 21st.
As I was looking through some rental companies around here I found one place that was similar looking outside as the current place we live. I had hubby call the rental place to see about it (and it was only 2 blocks up the road from us), but they mentioned that they had another place that was slighty bigger, and only $50/mo more. The place they mentioned was a duplex, rather then the triplex we called on, and is newer built. They had A side open but were holding it for someone who applied already. We got to go look at A side, because its the exact same as B side and B side would be the side we would get if we decided we liked it, just had to wait for the current tenants to move out. We really liked the place, a 3bd 2.5ba (opposed to our 2bd 1ba) with a fenced back yard (we have no fenced yard now and are on a fairly busy street), and the other nice thing is that its only $125 more then we pay now. One thing I realllllllly didn't like is that its the same exact layout as our current place. The front door opens to the living room then the kitchen straight back, you cannot see from the kitchen to the living room, I really wanted an open kitchen, and the laundry is in the kitchen again. All 3 beds are upstairs, along with 2 baths (one in the master one for the kids). We decided to go with this place because it had more pro's then con's. We put our deposit down on it on Friday the 11th, but we can't move till March 19th (haha lucky me on my birthday! >.<). The current tenants move out Feb. 28th but then the rental company has a 2 week period for inspection and cleaning/fixing things. So we'll have another month to move, luckily our current landlord is nice about waiting. So next month I'll probably be MIA for 2 weeks while we move and wait for Time Warner to come and hook up internet at the new place
As I was looking through some rental companies around here I found one place that was similar looking outside as the current place we live. I had hubby call the rental place to see about it (and it was only 2 blocks up the road from us), but they mentioned that they had another place that was slighty bigger, and only $50/mo more. The place they mentioned was a duplex, rather then the triplex we called on, and is newer built. They had A side open but were holding it for someone who applied already. We got to go look at A side, because its the exact same as B side and B side would be the side we would get if we decided we liked it, just had to wait for the current tenants to move out. We really liked the place, a 3bd 2.5ba (opposed to our 2bd 1ba) with a fenced back yard (we have no fenced yard now and are on a fairly busy street), and the other nice thing is that its only $125 more then we pay now. One thing I realllllllly didn't like is that its the same exact layout as our current place. The front door opens to the living room then the kitchen straight back, you cannot see from the kitchen to the living room, I really wanted an open kitchen, and the laundry is in the kitchen again. All 3 beds are upstairs, along with 2 baths (one in the master one for the kids). We decided to go with this place because it had more pro's then con's. We put our deposit down on it on Friday the 11th, but we can't move till March 19th (haha lucky me on my birthday! >.<). The current tenants move out Feb. 28th but then the rental company has a 2 week period for inspection and cleaning/fixing things. So we'll have another month to move, luckily our current landlord is nice about waiting. So next month I'll probably be MIA for 2 weeks while we move and wait for Time Warner to come and hook up internet at the new place
Monday, January 31, 2011
Kieran's going in for surgery
Today we went to the ENT, Kieran's speech is behind (Average is 3-50+ words, Kieran has just over 10). We were worried that her hearing was the reason for her speech. Turns out we were right her hearing is the reason for her speech issues. When the did the first test to see how her ear drum reacts it wasn't good, her left ear hardly had a reaction at all, a tiny one at the end of the the flat line, the right had a slightly better one but still not good. And the hearing in her left ear wasn't good either (they didn't test her right?!) He said she was hearing at 30 decibels and they wanted it at 15 or higher (said the lower the # the more they could hear the softer and quieter sounds) so not terribly bad but he was worried about her ear drum not reacting like it should.
Like we thought he brought up tubes. Kieran's only had 3 ear infections since September so that wasn't the worry, he said normally kids like that with fluid on their ears he would just recheck in 6 weeks when the weather warms up. What he was worried about is the fact that its affecting her hearing and her speech, because of that he's going to put tubes in. He said we'll do the tubes then a few weeks later we will check her hearing again to see if it helps. He said this kind of hearing loss is normally reversible, in 5% (I think it was) of patients it isn't.
We are waiting on authorization from insurance but once thats in we are scheduled for the surgery on the 17th of Feb. He was also sort of worried about her tonsils and adenoids, they were larger then they should be, he said medium, so not as large as Seamus' were but he wants to watch that too. He also said they will possibly take out the adenoids if the tubes alone don't help the draining (The left ear was really full, the right a little)
Like we thought he brought up tubes. Kieran's only had 3 ear infections since September so that wasn't the worry, he said normally kids like that with fluid on their ears he would just recheck in 6 weeks when the weather warms up. What he was worried about is the fact that its affecting her hearing and her speech, because of that he's going to put tubes in. He said we'll do the tubes then a few weeks later we will check her hearing again to see if it helps. He said this kind of hearing loss is normally reversible, in 5% (I think it was) of patients it isn't.
We are waiting on authorization from insurance but once thats in we are scheduled for the surgery on the 17th of Feb. He was also sort of worried about her tonsils and adenoids, they were larger then they should be, he said medium, so not as large as Seamus' were but he wants to watch that too. He also said they will possibly take out the adenoids if the tubes alone don't help the draining (The left ear was really full, the right a little)
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Been on a Hiatus
Sorry for the lack of posts since December. Seamus had a break from school, for the winter holidays and it hit us really hard. We had a lot of break downs and behavioral issues. We ended up stopping the brushing technique because it became too much of a fight. Some times he would asked to be brushed others I had to make him. Our OT said that it would cause him to regress on some behaviors but only for 2 weeks, after a month of it we couldn't take it any more. So now we're back to square 1 trying to find something else, hopefully the listening therapy but he doesn't like wearing the headphones so I'm not sure.
Other news about Seamus, we had a follow up at the Eye Specialist a few weeks ago, where we thought we would get to stop doing the dilating drops, but nope. The eye doctor (a new one, the main one in the office, since the old one left)didn't see enough of an improvement to let us stop. He has to continue the drops till April, then we will see the specialist again and decide from there whether or not to do the surgery on his eye.
Miss Kieran started Speech back in December. Her's is pretty delayed, only saying around 10 words and most are the same word just slightly said different. She sees the same speech therapist Seamus does so that's nice. Early Headstart has been worried with her hearing even though her receptive language (on the ST's test) was through the roof, so they kept testing her with the ear test that goes in the ear, which she failed multiple times since she pulls it out. I asked our pedi for a referral to the ENT (same one Seamus went to for his tonsil and adenoid surgery) to get tested in the sound booth. I'm glad that I got that referral. I found out on Saturday, when I took her to the pedi for a different reason, that she STILL has fluid on her left ear, its been months now that its been there. I'm actually quite irritated the doctors haven't done anything sooner when I kept asking about it. The doc I saw Saturday (in the office there's quite a few pedi's and NP's, when you do a "walk in" or same day appt, you see whoever is available, normally not our usual pedi.) said the ENT will most likely tube the ear, something I asked about in November to a different doc and he told me no <_<. The doc on Saturday told me that the fluid is probably the reason her speech is so bad, if its been there this long she's most likely not hearing out of that ear so its causing her to not hear words correctly. We have our ENT appt on Monday the 31st, so I'll find out more then. I kind of have to laugh though, Seamus was 2yrs 2mo old when he went to the ENT for his snoring and sleep apena, Kieran will be 22mo when she goes, pretty close to the same age, and if she gets surgery on the ear then again pretty close to the same age, lol.
Other news about Seamus, we had a follow up at the Eye Specialist a few weeks ago, where we thought we would get to stop doing the dilating drops, but nope. The eye doctor (a new one, the main one in the office, since the old one left)didn't see enough of an improvement to let us stop. He has to continue the drops till April, then we will see the specialist again and decide from there whether or not to do the surgery on his eye.
Miss Kieran started Speech back in December. Her's is pretty delayed, only saying around 10 words and most are the same word just slightly said different. She sees the same speech therapist Seamus does so that's nice. Early Headstart has been worried with her hearing even though her receptive language (on the ST's test) was through the roof, so they kept testing her with the ear test that goes in the ear, which she failed multiple times since she pulls it out. I asked our pedi for a referral to the ENT (same one Seamus went to for his tonsil and adenoid surgery) to get tested in the sound booth. I'm glad that I got that referral. I found out on Saturday, when I took her to the pedi for a different reason, that she STILL has fluid on her left ear, its been months now that its been there. I'm actually quite irritated the doctors haven't done anything sooner when I kept asking about it. The doc I saw Saturday (in the office there's quite a few pedi's and NP's, when you do a "walk in" or same day appt, you see whoever is available, normally not our usual pedi.) said the ENT will most likely tube the ear, something I asked about in November to a different doc and he told me no <_<. The doc on Saturday told me that the fluid is probably the reason her speech is so bad, if its been there this long she's most likely not hearing out of that ear so its causing her to not hear words correctly. We have our ENT appt on Monday the 31st, so I'll find out more then. I kind of have to laugh though, Seamus was 2yrs 2mo old when he went to the ENT for his snoring and sleep apena, Kieran will be 22mo when she goes, pretty close to the same age, and if she gets surgery on the ear then again pretty close to the same age, lol.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Nana's Snowmen
I have these little snow men that were my Nana's, and since I have all of her things I found them when I went through the garage. I've had them on my entertainment center but decided to stick them in their Home...yep their home, the lovely North Idaho snow of course! :D
One thing that prompted me to take this picture is that my friend Trish is having a photo contest on her blog. I know this photo isn't too fun or exciting, but having my Nana's snowmen and having a picture of them makes me feel a little better as we get ready to celebrate Christmas. This is the 2nd Christmas without Nana and its getting harder as it gets closer, I'm glad I have these snowmen.
The contest on Tutus & Sneakers is for a $20 GC to My Four Hens Photography. I love taking pictures but sometimes get frustrated getting good and neat edits. I love the look of the My Four Hens actions, they would be awesome to have when we do my brothers Senior pictures this spring/summer.
One thing that prompted me to take this picture is that my friend Trish is having a photo contest on her blog. I know this photo isn't too fun or exciting, but having my Nana's snowmen and having a picture of them makes me feel a little better as we get ready to celebrate Christmas. This is the 2nd Christmas without Nana and its getting harder as it gets closer, I'm glad I have these snowmen.
The contest on Tutus & Sneakers is for a $20 GC to My Four Hens Photography. I love taking pictures but sometimes get frustrated getting good and neat edits. I love the look of the My Four Hens actions, they would be awesome to have when we do my brothers Senior pictures this spring/summer.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
My little Ham's
So I decided to try to get some Christmas-y pictures of the kids tonight...tried is the key word here. Kieran doesn't much care for smiling at the camera, never really has even our professional pictures she's more smug looking then smiley. I thought I'd give it ago, but only a couple are ok. Luckily I don't do picture cards or I'd be in trouble. These are really just pictures for me to see the kids over the years, I do it every year for the holidays (Except w/ Seamus in 08 cause I was sickly pregnant and we didn't get a tree till days before xmas).
Anyway here are our fun shots. I miss our Canon T1i right now (sadly its pawned till we can get it out in January) cause the pictures would've turned out better, but these work...lol
Anyway here are our fun shots. I miss our Canon T1i right now (sadly its pawned till we can get it out in January) cause the pictures would've turned out better, but these work...lol
Friday, October 22, 2010
Special Needs Blog Hop
I found this blog hop trough another JM mommy (Dotcomkari) and decided to link up too.
Its pretty neat, hosted by Autism Learning Felt and Super Mommy To The Rescue.
They have a Question on the blog so I will go a head and answer it.
Question for this Week: Introduce yourself and your Blog to us so we can get to know you:
I'm Justine, 23 and I live in North Idaho. I married Kenneth in 2006 after a year long engagement. Together we have 2 great kids.
My oldest, Seamus, is 4, born July 18th, 2006. Seamus just started preschool at Head Start and is loving it (and I'm liking the breaks too hehe). His life has been far from easy. When Seamus was a newborn he was constantly spitting up and throwing up, we went to a few doctors and NP's at our office and they all said it was normal. We finally found a doc in our clinic that told it it wasn't normal and that Seamus had GERD Reflux (he would vomit a foot or more a way a few times a day and was always spitting up after each meal), we tried a few medications before Previcad finally worked. When Seamus was 2mo old the Torticollis was caught and he started OT through Early Intervention, and a few weeks later we found the Plagiocephally (caught by the Tort.). While in OT we started realizing his delays and how far behind he was, he was anywhere from 3-6mo delayed on average, some things more. His doctor wasn't sure why he was delayed, she said that Tort doesn't usually cause kids to be delayed like he was. Seamus went through a couple tests, like a CT scan and a Cystic Fibrosis test, but they all came back normal. The CT Scan did reveal Macrocephally, which we sort of knew since his head had always been in the 95+%. When he was 6 or 7 months old he started PT as well as continuing his OT. At 15months they wanted him to start Speech Therapy too but we were moving out of state. The state we moved to said that Seamus was fine and they wouldn't offer any services to him. We moved back home 8months later and got right back into the swing of things. Seamus was now having behavior issues as well as his speech problems. His doctor is great and on the ball and listens to what we have to say. We started him on Melatonin in June of '09 because he was only sleeping for 3-4hrs a night and his behavior issues got worse with the lack of sleep. But the melatonin didn't help fully and in January he was started on Tenex to help calm him down (he's constantly moving and in motion), and she also referred him to a Counselor and hopped he would also be seen to get evaluated for Aspergers (what we thought for years he had), and she also put a referral in for Speech because his speech had gotten behind. Consoling was going great, but no one would see him for an Autism spectrum evaluation telling us to go to Infant-Toddler/Early Intervention (He was too old for EI and the others wouldn't see him till age 6). I was super upset with the run around we were still getting about things as was his doctor. Finally in July (almost 7 months after the referral) we got a call from the Speech Pathologist saying they had an opening and they wanted to evaluate Seamus. The day we went in was like a huge light bulb going off for us. Seamus was diagnosed with Articulation Disorder and a Minor Speech delay (its more how he says the words we can't understand), but during the evaluation the Speech Therapist asked me if he'd been evaluated for Sensory issues. The feeling when she said that was almost peaceful and wonderful, finally someone else was noticing things besides me and my family and it wasn't all in my head. She helped us get a referral from out doctor so Seamus could see the Sensory OT at the same place we have ST at. It took a month to get into the OT eval but that day was also a great day for me, finally figuring things out and a way that we can help Seamus. Seamus was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder and a Fine Motor delay(his average score in FM was a 25%). Seamus has both Hyper and Hypo Sensitivities, but now that we know more about them and why he does some of the things he does its become very helpful.
Kieran is my second child, she is 18½ months old, born April 8th, 2009. Kieran is a lot different then her brother. She's always been more social then he was at similar ages and she loves to interact with people (with Seamus that's only started in the last 1-1.5yrs). She loves to dance and is starting to like to dress up. Kieran has hit the age of Separation Anxiety and stands by me when ever we go somewhere new (something Seamus has never done). Kieran is behind in speech but for right now they are just watching her, and I was told recently because of Seamus' issues Kieran may be behind since she models after him. Its been a whole different experience with Kieran and its "odd" seeing how children from the same 2 parents can be so different developmentally and physically.
Its pretty neat, hosted by Autism Learning Felt and Super Mommy To The Rescue.
They have a Question on the blog so I will go a head and answer it.
Question for this Week: Introduce yourself and your Blog to us so we can get to know you:
I'm Justine, 23 and I live in North Idaho. I married Kenneth in 2006 after a year long engagement. Together we have 2 great kids.
My oldest, Seamus, is 4, born July 18th, 2006. Seamus just started preschool at Head Start and is loving it (and I'm liking the breaks too hehe). His life has been far from easy. When Seamus was a newborn he was constantly spitting up and throwing up, we went to a few doctors and NP's at our office and they all said it was normal. We finally found a doc in our clinic that told it it wasn't normal and that Seamus had GERD Reflux (he would vomit a foot or more a way a few times a day and was always spitting up after each meal), we tried a few medications before Previcad finally worked. When Seamus was 2mo old the Torticollis was caught and he started OT through Early Intervention, and a few weeks later we found the Plagiocephally (caught by the Tort.). While in OT we started realizing his delays and how far behind he was, he was anywhere from 3-6mo delayed on average, some things more. His doctor wasn't sure why he was delayed, she said that Tort doesn't usually cause kids to be delayed like he was. Seamus went through a couple tests, like a CT scan and a Cystic Fibrosis test, but they all came back normal. The CT Scan did reveal Macrocephally, which we sort of knew since his head had always been in the 95+%. When he was 6 or 7 months old he started PT as well as continuing his OT. At 15months they wanted him to start Speech Therapy too but we were moving out of state. The state we moved to said that Seamus was fine and they wouldn't offer any services to him. We moved back home 8months later and got right back into the swing of things. Seamus was now having behavior issues as well as his speech problems. His doctor is great and on the ball and listens to what we have to say. We started him on Melatonin in June of '09 because he was only sleeping for 3-4hrs a night and his behavior issues got worse with the lack of sleep. But the melatonin didn't help fully and in January he was started on Tenex to help calm him down (he's constantly moving and in motion), and she also referred him to a Counselor and hopped he would also be seen to get evaluated for Aspergers (what we thought for years he had), and she also put a referral in for Speech because his speech had gotten behind. Consoling was going great, but no one would see him for an Autism spectrum evaluation telling us to go to Infant-Toddler/Early Intervention (He was too old for EI and the others wouldn't see him till age 6). I was super upset with the run around we were still getting about things as was his doctor. Finally in July (almost 7 months after the referral) we got a call from the Speech Pathologist saying they had an opening and they wanted to evaluate Seamus. The day we went in was like a huge light bulb going off for us. Seamus was diagnosed with Articulation Disorder and a Minor Speech delay (its more how he says the words we can't understand), but during the evaluation the Speech Therapist asked me if he'd been evaluated for Sensory issues. The feeling when she said that was almost peaceful and wonderful, finally someone else was noticing things besides me and my family and it wasn't all in my head. She helped us get a referral from out doctor so Seamus could see the Sensory OT at the same place we have ST at. It took a month to get into the OT eval but that day was also a great day for me, finally figuring things out and a way that we can help Seamus. Seamus was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder and a Fine Motor delay(his average score in FM was a 25%). Seamus has both Hyper and Hypo Sensitivities, but now that we know more about them and why he does some of the things he does its become very helpful.
Kieran is my second child, she is 18½ months old, born April 8th, 2009. Kieran is a lot different then her brother. She's always been more social then he was at similar ages and she loves to interact with people (with Seamus that's only started in the last 1-1.5yrs). She loves to dance and is starting to like to dress up. Kieran has hit the age of Separation Anxiety and stands by me when ever we go somewhere new (something Seamus has never done). Kieran is behind in speech but for right now they are just watching her, and I was told recently because of Seamus' issues Kieran may be behind since she models after him. Its been a whole different experience with Kieran and its "odd" seeing how children from the same 2 parents can be so different developmentally and physically.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Crazy Schedule
I should have prepared the kids and practiced our new schedule this week, but...well...I wanted to sleep in this week. :P
Seamus starts school on Monday. He goes from 8am-11:45am which means we will need to get up between 7-7:30, thats early for this mama! On top of that our weeks are packed, and this is why I can't figure out how to work out of the home!
Monday (our easy day)
Seamus school 8-11:45
Tuesday
School 8-11:45
Speech 2:30-3:00
Seamus PSR 4pm-6pm
Wednesday
School 8-11:45
Kieran playgroup 10am-12pm
Speech 2:30-3
EHS home visit 3:30-4:30
Thursday
School 8-11:45
OT 1:30-2:30
Counseling every other week 5-6pm
Friday
Free day! Which means bill paying day
Saturday
S PSR 12:30-2:30
Sunday
Free Day/Relax
My eyes keep going >.<, especially since Speech, OT, Playgroup and Counseling are all in the town next to us. So on Tuesdays & Thursday's its pick Seamus up, go home for a little then head to town, also on every other Thursday I don't want to drive back home only to turn around a half hour later to go back for counseling, so we'll have to stay in town and find something to do. Wednesday's are kind of a pain, my mom will pick Seamus up for me since I don't want to leave playgroup at 11 to get him on time, but after play group I'll have to come get Seamus (15-20min drive) then go back to town for speech right after.
Oh ya and be on the look out this weekend and next week I have 2 reviews and giveaways being posted :D
Seamus starts school on Monday. He goes from 8am-11:45am which means we will need to get up between 7-7:30, thats early for this mama! On top of that our weeks are packed, and this is why I can't figure out how to work out of the home!
Monday (our easy day)
Seamus school 8-11:45
Tuesday
School 8-11:45
Speech 2:30-3:00
Seamus PSR 4pm-6pm
Wednesday
School 8-11:45
Kieran playgroup 10am-12pm
Speech 2:30-3
EHS home visit 3:30-4:30
Thursday
School 8-11:45
OT 1:30-2:30
Counseling every other week 5-6pm
Friday
Free day! Which means bill paying day
Saturday
S PSR 12:30-2:30
Sunday
Free Day/Relax
My eyes keep going >.<, especially since Speech, OT, Playgroup and Counseling are all in the town next to us. So on Tuesdays & Thursday's its pick Seamus up, go home for a little then head to town, also on every other Thursday I don't want to drive back home only to turn around a half hour later to go back for counseling, so we'll have to stay in town and find something to do. Wednesday's are kind of a pain, my mom will pick Seamus up for me since I don't want to leave playgroup at 11 to get him on time, but after play group I'll have to come get Seamus (15-20min drive) then go back to town for speech right after.
Oh ya and be on the look out this weekend and next week I have 2 reviews and giveaways being posted :D
Monday, August 30, 2010
Always fear the noises you hear...coming from a 4yr old...
((Warning pictures at end of post, not all will want to see))
Mr. Seamus is hyper, hardly ever stopping and non listening(teenager already?!). Tonight was full of telling him to stop running in our small living room (apx. 12'x12'). I went to the kitchen to do some dishes and get dinner made and the hubby was on his computer(which is in the kitchen looking into the living room. The kids were playing in the living room, running even after being told to stop. Next thing I know we hear a super thud, then the, "Owie, Owie, OWIE!!" screams. Hubby gets to Seamus first since he was less then 3ft away. As hubby went to give Seamus a hug, thinking it was just another bonk on the head, I notice the blood pouring down the side of his face. I know head injury's bleed a lot, but holy cow I didn't expect that much. I figured with how much blood and we needed to take him to the doctor. Our pediatrician's have 3 offices in 3 towns in our county, and I called to tell them we were coming into the one in our town...but they had just closed an hour before. Our only option was the main office in the big town in our county which was 15minutes away taking the interstate. The whole drive Seamus was fine, quiet for him, but fine. The bleeding had stopped on the way too. We had a 15minute wait after we got to the office, but Seamus did well sitting there and wanted to play (covered in caked on blood >.<).
When we get called back, the nurse wants to clean it up so the NP could get a better look at it. Just the sight of the water bottles set Seamus off and the blood started coming again. After the nurse got it all cleaned she said the NP would be in to see if she would close it with the glue or stitches. When the NP came in we were expecting her to say that she would glue it and we'd be on our way...not how it happened. The gash was too wide to use glue(its a little over an inch long and around 1/4-1/2" wide), and she said he needed 6-8 stitches. Poor Seamus, it was horrible holding him down while she trimmed his hair, he was screaming(they herd him out front in the lobby too) which was making him bleed worse. She couldn't do the 6-8 stitches because of how he was being so instead she did 3 or 4 and then a mattress stitch (which she said was a larger one to make up for the ones she couldn't do). He has to keep them in for 7 days then get removed. Hope the next 7 days go smoothly and he doesn't mess with them.
Warning Pictures are a little gory.
This was from hubby's cell phone at the doc's before the nurse cleaned him(after we'd wiped him down and held pressure on it before we got to the doc) so the picture quality isn't very good.
And after once we got home
Mr. Seamus is hyper, hardly ever stopping and non listening(teenager already?!). Tonight was full of telling him to stop running in our small living room (apx. 12'x12'). I went to the kitchen to do some dishes and get dinner made and the hubby was on his computer(which is in the kitchen looking into the living room. The kids were playing in the living room, running even after being told to stop. Next thing I know we hear a super thud, then the, "Owie, Owie, OWIE!!" screams. Hubby gets to Seamus first since he was less then 3ft away. As hubby went to give Seamus a hug, thinking it was just another bonk on the head, I notice the blood pouring down the side of his face. I know head injury's bleed a lot, but holy cow I didn't expect that much. I figured with how much blood and we needed to take him to the doctor. Our pediatrician's have 3 offices in 3 towns in our county, and I called to tell them we were coming into the one in our town...but they had just closed an hour before. Our only option was the main office in the big town in our county which was 15minutes away taking the interstate. The whole drive Seamus was fine, quiet for him, but fine. The bleeding had stopped on the way too. We had a 15minute wait after we got to the office, but Seamus did well sitting there and wanted to play (covered in caked on blood >.<).
When we get called back, the nurse wants to clean it up so the NP could get a better look at it. Just the sight of the water bottles set Seamus off and the blood started coming again. After the nurse got it all cleaned she said the NP would be in to see if she would close it with the glue or stitches. When the NP came in we were expecting her to say that she would glue it and we'd be on our way...not how it happened. The gash was too wide to use glue(its a little over an inch long and around 1/4-1/2" wide), and she said he needed 6-8 stitches. Poor Seamus, it was horrible holding him down while she trimmed his hair, he was screaming(they herd him out front in the lobby too) which was making him bleed worse. She couldn't do the 6-8 stitches because of how he was being so instead she did 3 or 4 and then a mattress stitch (which she said was a larger one to make up for the ones she couldn't do). He has to keep them in for 7 days then get removed. Hope the next 7 days go smoothly and he doesn't mess with them.
Warning Pictures are a little gory.
This was from hubby's cell phone at the doc's before the nurse cleaned him(after we'd wiped him down and held pressure on it before we got to the doc) so the picture quality isn't very good.
And after once we got home
Friday, May 28, 2010
May 27th, 2009
May 27th, 2009 was a day that I went through in numb shock. I was woken up to my mom(who was living with us at the time to get back on her feet) screaming. Scared I ran to Seamus' room, where she stayed, thinking that something had happened to him, only to see her on the phone crying. I knew the instant that I noticed Seamus wasn't in the room that something had happened to my Nana. Nana passed away an hour before they called (called my mom at 9am, they had some problems getting a hold of her). We never got to say goodbye. Nana had health problems, and just the month before, days before Kieran was born, she was in the hospital for her heart issues but was doing fine after they changed her meds. Needless to say her death was unexpected to all of us, and what made it worse was we were supposed to see her on Mothers day but she called the day before saying that she had church plans(she often canceled due to church plans). She only got to see Kieran twice before she passed, the first time was Easter, April 12th, and the second was a couple days before Mothers day when we had ran into her at Walmart and made the plans to see her on Mothers day. Its weird to think that its been a whole year without my Nana, she could get on my nerves but I think that was because we were/are so similar in thinking. I miss her and I don't think I will ever fully forgive myself for not trying to see her the day before Mothers day or after.
Forever my Nana, Audrey Gray, August 8th, 1934 - May 27th, 2009
Mom and Nana on our wedding day, September 1st, 2006
Nana on the left (Grammie, dad's mom on the right)
Seamus' first birthday party, July 14th, 2007
Taking us(Seamus and I) to the airport when we moved to Nebraska, November 10th, 2007
Forever my Nana, Audrey Gray, August 8th, 1934 - May 27th, 2009
Mom and Nana on our wedding day, September 1st, 2006
Nana on the left (Grammie, dad's mom on the right)
Seamus' first birthday party, July 14th, 2007
Taking us(Seamus and I) to the airport when we moved to Nebraska, November 10th, 2007
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
A Year ago
This time last year I was doing the last few things around the house(laundry, and dishes) and making sure my bags were packed. It was also the last day as a mommy of 1, so I tried to spend most of the day just me and Seamus, even had him sleep with me in bed that night. Its weird to think a year has already gone by, it seems like Kieran has been here for ever but not at the same time.
Here is my last belly shot, 38weeks 3days, taken just after I got out of the shower. I had to wash with this special soap the hospital gave me to clean my tummy off to help prepare for the c-section.
Here is my last belly shot, 38weeks 3days, taken just after I got out of the shower. I had to wash with this special soap the hospital gave me to clean my tummy off to help prepare for the c-section.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Traveling
The last few weeks I have been planing, and replaning and running a checklist all in my head for our trip to Nebraska. We are leaving around noon on February 12th, and hoping to make it to Sheridan, Wy late that night and spend the night then arrive in Nebraska on Saturday. I'm a little worried about actually spending the night in a hotel, for 2 reasons. The first reason I'm worried is when we came back up from Nebraska in 2008 we planned to stay the night in Billings, Mt but when we got there we found out that all the hotels(that we knew about) were full because of a local Native American convention going on and the tribes had the rooms booked, so I'm worried about finding a room. Hubby thinks we will just drive till we are tired, making it to Billings or Sheridan and finding a hotel then, I wanted to reserve one but I was warned about the weather and we may not make it to either place and I dont want to waste a reservation. My second reason for being worried...the kids. I think Kieran will be fine sleeping in a hotel in bed with me and hubby, but Seamus, I think, will have a hard time. Seamus already has a really bad time sleeping and being in a strange place will be even harder on in (especially sharing a bed with my brother).
I keep trying to think of things for the kids to do while driving, we were going to get a dvd player to strap on the headrest but didn't like what we found (hoping to borrow a friends player), so now I'm back to square one. I was thinking crayons, but Mr. Shaymee will color on anything and he will be riding right next to Kieran and I don't want him giving her the crayons so I nixed that one. What I've come up with is either buying them each a small new toy to play with, and/or letting Seamus pick something out so he'll be more excited to play with it.
We've (...well I've) decided to get a cooler and fill it with ice and drinks so we aren't wasting money at gas stations on those, I was also wanting to do the same with lunch but hubby said he'd rather stop to get that. Hubby's dad sent Seamus these cool cups that have a snack cup on top, and a straw runs through it to a bottom drink cup so that will be nice and compact for him to use. Not sure yet what to do for Kieran, cause I know she will want food when she see's Seamus eating something(hopefully he wont try to feed her).
We will be in Nebraska from mid Saturday till very early Wednesday. Wednesday morning we are leaving for South Dakota and stopping at Mt. Rushmore(4hrs north of where we will be in Nebraska). I've been to Mt. Rushmore back in 2004 but my brother and hubby haven't and I thought it'd be a neat little detour. Our plans are to stay the night in Rapid City then take I-90 straight home on Thursday making it home late Thursday night early Friday morning.
It will be fun seeing how the kids do on the trip. I'll be updating my blog as the trip goes on :)
I keep trying to think of things for the kids to do while driving, we were going to get a dvd player to strap on the headrest but didn't like what we found (hoping to borrow a friends player), so now I'm back to square one. I was thinking crayons, but Mr. Shaymee will color on anything and he will be riding right next to Kieran and I don't want him giving her the crayons so I nixed that one. What I've come up with is either buying them each a small new toy to play with, and/or letting Seamus pick something out so he'll be more excited to play with it.
We've (...well I've) decided to get a cooler and fill it with ice and drinks so we aren't wasting money at gas stations on those, I was also wanting to do the same with lunch but hubby said he'd rather stop to get that. Hubby's dad sent Seamus these cool cups that have a snack cup on top, and a straw runs through it to a bottom drink cup so that will be nice and compact for him to use. Not sure yet what to do for Kieran, cause I know she will want food when she see's Seamus eating something(hopefully he wont try to feed her).
We will be in Nebraska from mid Saturday till very early Wednesday. Wednesday morning we are leaving for South Dakota and stopping at Mt. Rushmore(4hrs north of where we will be in Nebraska). I've been to Mt. Rushmore back in 2004 but my brother and hubby haven't and I thought it'd be a neat little detour. Our plans are to stay the night in Rapid City then take I-90 straight home on Thursday making it home late Thursday night early Friday morning.
It will be fun seeing how the kids do on the trip. I'll be updating my blog as the trip goes on :)
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Back
I should be back in the swing of things. The last few weeks have been too crazy with doctors appointments, teething 9month olds, colds, taxes and trip planning.
I'm planning a post here in the next day or so about planning a trip with a 3½yr old and a 10month old. And I'm asking for your help. I want to include some tips from you, what ideas do you have for the drive(appx 1200miles) in mid winter through pretty empty roads(Montana, and Wyoming into Nebraska), what do you pack, how do those that cloth diaper do it(we wont be able to wash ours so looks like bringing our cloth is out of the question). Anything that has to do with trips, snacks, eating on the road, sleeping in a strange house(well for the kids, its my dad's house, but there will be 2 hotel stays), etc. Post here in the comments or email me at j.mcdilda at gmail dot com
I'm planning a post here in the next day or so about planning a trip with a 3½yr old and a 10month old. And I'm asking for your help. I want to include some tips from you, what ideas do you have for the drive(appx 1200miles) in mid winter through pretty empty roads(Montana, and Wyoming into Nebraska), what do you pack, how do those that cloth diaper do it(we wont be able to wash ours so looks like bringing our cloth is out of the question). Anything that has to do with trips, snacks, eating on the road, sleeping in a strange house(well for the kids, its my dad's house, but there will be 2 hotel stays), etc. Post here in the comments or email me at j.mcdilda at gmail dot com
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Been a tad MIA
This last week has been a little hectic, err well just the weekend really. I feel so thrown off still. Wedensday we went to my mom's to pickup her van. Why you may ask? Because she can't drive it for a couple weeks...again why? She had to have a hysterectomy Thursday morning(I have the van so I can drive her around or get her in the day while hubby is working if needed since we only have one car for now). She's been having some problems for just over a year now so this was something that we kind of knew would be coming, and its good that its done now. She went in for surgery Thursday morning and found out Thursday evening when the doc finally came to talk to her that they accidentally cut her bladder. Since they cut her bladder she has to have a catheter in until this coming Thursday (hopefully its healed enough to remove then). Mom was released Friday night and Kieran and I went to stay with her. I stayed with her until late Saturday night because she's not supposed to be doing much (shes got a dog and cat that need taken care of too) and shes lonely by herself.
Friday morning we also had Seamus' evaluation to see how he is. I'm so happy to say hes finally on track with his developments, averaging 65% (they were between 65-66%) on his gross motor skills. He did fail his hearing because he wouldn't cooperate with the lady, and they are wanting to keep an eye on his speech and want him re-evaluated. I'm going to pass on redoing the hearing because he's been tested quite a big and we know he can hear just fine, for the speech we will be talking with his pedi in a couple weeks. The 1 problem they all had with him...he wouldn't listen, got off track and didn't cooperate with the, the same issues we have at home. If we aren't in Nebraska he has an appointment on February 8th with his pedi to talk about his behavior and how its slowly getting worse, and about how his speech is declining. Kieran's Early Headstart FC (Seamus' old one too but he aged out of the program at 3) said that they had a speaker at the office a couple weeks back, and the lady was talking about her son. Our FC said the speakers son sounded just like Seamus, the speakers son has ADHD and Bipolar disorder. Both of those issues are very likely, Bipolar slightly more as it seems to run in hubbys family (His grandma, mom, him and brother all have it...its partially why he's up here and all his family is in Texas), and ADHD is in both of our families. From what my mom has told me there is a fine line between Bipolar and ADHD and something around 85% of people with ADHD also have Bipolar. We will be talking with his doctor about getting him tested for these. If we can find an answer I think it will help us all out.
Last Monday (12th) we had Kieran's 9 month appointment. She's doing well, still small in the 20-25% for weight and height at 17lbs 12oz and 26½" long. She's on track with all her milestones and seems to be doing great. The doc said to just skip the baby purees since she refuses to eat them and let her have big people food if thats what she wants.
Friday morning we also had Seamus' evaluation to see how he is. I'm so happy to say hes finally on track with his developments, averaging 65% (they were between 65-66%) on his gross motor skills. He did fail his hearing because he wouldn't cooperate with the lady, and they are wanting to keep an eye on his speech and want him re-evaluated. I'm going to pass on redoing the hearing because he's been tested quite a big and we know he can hear just fine, for the speech we will be talking with his pedi in a couple weeks. The 1 problem they all had with him...he wouldn't listen, got off track and didn't cooperate with the, the same issues we have at home. If we aren't in Nebraska he has an appointment on February 8th with his pedi to talk about his behavior and how its slowly getting worse, and about how his speech is declining. Kieran's Early Headstart FC (Seamus' old one too but he aged out of the program at 3) said that they had a speaker at the office a couple weeks back, and the lady was talking about her son. Our FC said the speakers son sounded just like Seamus, the speakers son has ADHD and Bipolar disorder. Both of those issues are very likely, Bipolar slightly more as it seems to run in hubbys family (His grandma, mom, him and brother all have it...its partially why he's up here and all his family is in Texas), and ADHD is in both of our families. From what my mom has told me there is a fine line between Bipolar and ADHD and something around 85% of people with ADHD also have Bipolar. We will be talking with his doctor about getting him tested for these. If we can find an answer I think it will help us all out.
Last Monday (12th) we had Kieran's 9 month appointment. She's doing well, still small in the 20-25% for weight and height at 17lbs 12oz and 26½" long. She's on track with all her milestones and seems to be doing great. The doc said to just skip the baby purees since she refuses to eat them and let her have big people food if thats what she wants.
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